Below yoga sequence should be used as a guide by yoga teachers to create their own yoga class plans

Overview

Yin Yoga: Yin Yoga Sequence For Hips

Students who are flexible may sometimes find the muscles around the hips tight and stressed despite intense yoga practice. In such cases, the introduction of Yin Yoga can be beneficial. The holding of yoga postures related to the hips for a long duration helps create space for opening deeper tissues in the body, apart from just the muscles and tendons. These tissues, when stretched, reduce tightness and release the tension around the hips.

In any style of yoga practice, the importance of opening the hips, irrespective of the muscle focus, is emphasized. In the human anatomy, the hips comprise of many different muscles like the hip flexors, the inner hips, the outer hips, etc. Hence, when students complain of stiff hips or tight hips, it could be any of the aforementioned areas, leading to discomfort and stiffness. Furthermore, the connecting tissues of the muscle groups to the legs, back, buttocks, abdomen, etc., could also be a concern, thus leading to stiff hips. Through the practice of yin yoga poses, these muscle groups and the related tissues are stretched, engaging them while holding the postures for longer than a minute.

The given Yin Yoga Sequence For Hips is an excellent sequence to gradually warm up the body, moving towards external rotation of the hips, initially with standing and prone positions followed by internal rotation of the hips in supine positions. Adding relaxing poses with pranayama and meditation completes the Yin Yoga Sequence For Hips to connect to the breathing process while relaxing the body and the mind, thus leaving the students with a light heart.

Note: In this yoga sequence certain yoga poses are held for 1 minute or more. Hence, those who are new to the practice of Yin Yoga should go slow and watch out for uneasiness at the hips or the lower back while in any pose. Being aware of the body while in the stretch is part of every yoga practice and should be given importance while teaching the yoga poses.

A. Begin the practice of Yin Yoga Sequence for Hips by sitting at the center of the yoga mat in Sukhasana.

B. Placing the right hand on the chest close to the heart and the left hand on the belly close to the navel, sit extending the spine making sure the neck is in line with the chest and shoulders.

C. Begin with the practice of Viloma Pranayama calming the breath while connecting to it. Practice this for about 3-4 minutes.

D. Focus on the movement of the breath in coordination with the abdomen and the diaphragm.

E. Calm the body and mind with the practice of this form of pranayama making it easier to move the body with breath awareness as you go along in the yoga sequence. You could close your eyes to stay more focused.

A. Releasing from the practice of Viloma Pranayama, relax and sit the the hands at the chest in Anjali Mudra.

B. To warm up the body with the breathing and the upper body, start with the practice of Circle Of Joy.

C. Moving the arms in a circular motion practice this for 3 rounds taking it to about 2 min. Focus on moving along with the breathing.

D. To also release the tensions around the arms and the shoulders the practice of Circle Of Joy will help to open the diaphragm muscles for easy flow of breath. For better comfort, seated on a yoga block or on a cushion is encouraged.

E. To understand this better please click on the description title on the left.

A. Release with the practice of Circle Of Johy and relax coming to breath normally.

B. Begin with the practice of Bumble Bee Breath, taking a deep breath while exhaling at the back of the throat creating a sound similar to the sound of the bee. To understand the steps, please go to the title description on the left side.

C. A great way to cool and calm the body and mind. Go deep with the sound and feel the vibrations within as the exhalation happens.

D. Stay with this practice for about 18 breaths or 3 mins. Releasing all the tensions before the Yin Yoga Sequence for better results.

A. To continue begin the practice of the next variation of Surya Namaskar moving from A to E.

B. From Mountain Pose, after taking few rounds of breathing to relax:

Inhale - raise the arms up in Raised Arms Pose
Exhale - bring the torso in a forward fold in Standing Forward Fold Pose
Inhale/Exhale - raise the chest up and come to Half Forward Fold Pose.
Inhale - take the right foot back and go into Crescent Low Lunge Pose.
Exhale - while in Crescent Low Lunge Pose.
Inhale - bring the left foot back, placing both the knees on the floor.
Exhale - sit down in Downward Facing Hero Pose. Stay here for about 2 breaths to relax.
Inhale/ Exhale - in this pose.
Inhale/Exhale - again
Inhale/Exhale - stretching the arms and the torso in front, bring the knee down and chest down to go into Eight Limbed Pose.
Inhale - raise the chest up and go into Upward Facing Dog Pose.
Inhale/Exhale - here
Inhale/Exhale - one more time.
Inhale - lift the hips up.
Exhale - bring the chest and shoulders down to Downward Facing Dog Pose.
Inhale/Exhale - go back to Downward Facing Hero. Take 2-3 breaths here.
Inhale - bring the right foot forward to go into Crescent Low Lunge Pose.
Exhale - stretch the torso to go into Standing Forward Fold Pose.
Inhale - raise the arms up to go into a deeper stretch with the backbend in Raised Arms Pose.
Exhale - relax to come back to Tadasana. Take a few breaths to relax the breathing.

C. A great way to warm up the lower back with poses like Raised Arms Pose, Upward Facing Dog Pose, Crescent Low Lunge Pose along with counter movements to open the lower back muscles for easy flow in backbend stretches.